"Yes, Sakura."
Ryun covered his face and said, "You've forgotten the past, forgotten our loving history, I—"
Hearing the tremor in Ryun's voice, Sakura was moved. Just as she was about to step forward, Ryun continued, "I can't keep pretending."
Only then did Sakura realize she had misunderstood. She rushed forward, wanting to give Ryun her usual hard time.
But then she sensed something was wrong. Her figure, now much fuller, seemed to be giving Ryun an unintended benefit.
"Wait, hold on! What's going on here? Why does everything feel so real?"
Sakura hugged her arms over her chest, pressing her legs tightly together.
During the roughhousing with Ryun just now, she had a faint, strange feeling, as if her body had long been familiar with all of this.
Naturally, Ryun couldn't say that they were now an old married couple.
He had cut out that part of the simulated memory, as he didn't want to rob the real Sakura of her youthful and lively cuteness.
So Ryun could only say, "This is actually my genjutsu. It's normal for things to feel a bit off; after all, I don't know exactly what you'll look like in the future."
"So, you're the one who made me look like this?" Sakura asked tentatively.
Ryun, knowing what Sakura really wanted to ask, said, "Yeah, in my eyes, this is how sexy and beautiful you'll be in the future."
Sakura's cheeks flushed crimson. She mustered the courage to stand up and admire her new appearance, even striking a few poses like a movie star.
Unlike the fully mature Sakura in those memories, this Sakura had a shy, budding innocence, reminiscent of the feeling during Ryun's first harmonious time with Sakura. It made Ryun unable to resist giving her a thumbs-up.
Sakura smiled proudly, too.
She admitted that her current appearance perfectly matched her own expectations for herself, and it was also what Ryun expected of her.
The fusion of these two expectations gave Sakura a sudden urge to grow up quickly.
Afterwards, Ryun even brought out a mirror, letting Sakura admire herself. A full half hour passed before Sakura reluctantly said, "Can we go out and see what Konoha looks like now? And also..."
She really wanted to ask how Tenten and the others were, if they had grown up like her, and if they were still Ryun's girlfriends.
Ryun shook his head regretfully and said, "It's just the two of us here."
"Ah..."
Sakura stared blankly at Ryun, feeling like she understood something.
She shyly lowered her head, her breathing gradually quickening, but she still gathered her courage and said, "Since this is your genjutsu, and we've turned into adults, so..."
"So, it's time to start training, Sakura."
"Huh?"
Sakura looked up in confusion, only to see Ryun deftly strike a few poses. Then, using Water Release, he spat water at Sakura.
Soaked through, Sakura raised her fist in annoyance, yelling as she swung at this eternal child, Ryun. It was a waste of her good intentions.
Then she was surprised to find her strength seemed terrifyingly immense.
Even though Ryun had assumed a defensive stance, she still sent him flying.
Ryun grinned, shaking his arm painfully. He hadn't used any defensive measures just now, purely enduring the blow to experience Sakura's power. Clearly, in terms of pure strength now, Sakura surpassed him. This was the gap represented by the two-point difference in their ninja stats.
However, aside from this, Sakura actually knew nothing else. Her knowledge was identical to her real-world self. This was also the result of Ryun's deliberate editing.
Ryun wanted Sakura to learn here, not to be directly instilled with knowledge.
Because the ability to learn is itself a part of one's capability, an ability that can't be acquired through knowledge infusion. In the future, Sakura would be researching medical ninjutsu together with Ryun.
"My strength..."
Sakura clenched her fist in confusion. Ryun, sensing the time was right, explained everything to her.
Then Sakura became enthusiastic and eagerly said, "I understand! I can experience my grown-up talents here, decide my own learning path, and then bring the experience gained here back to reality?"
"Actually, it's more than that. When we return to reality, I'll give you another gift."
"Okay!"
Since Ryun had given her such a precious opportunity, Sakura naturally wouldn't waste any more time.
As for what Sakura would learn today, Ryun didn't plan to teach her anything too complicated.
First was one-handed hand seals.
This wasn't actually that difficult; it mainly depended on chakra control and the ability to multitask.
Sakura's Hand Seal stat of 9, combined with her Mind Mirror talent, already fully met the conditions. The only thing left was to work on proficiency in the real world.
Next were the Demonic Illusion: Hell Viewing Technique and the Demonic Illusion: False Surroundings Technique. One was a D-rank genjutsu, the other C-rank. For Sakura now, learning them was effortless.
Finally, it was about combining the above aspects, enabling Sakura to cast dual genjutsu using the dual-core drive of her Mind Mirror.
Of course, after understanding this, Sakura herself would hardly need to fear genjutsu anymore, unless the opponent could detect her split consciousness or hypnotize both halves of her consciousness at once.
As for more advanced techniques like the Yin Seal or Genjutsu Sealing Seal, it was still too early for Sakura. It wouldn't be too late for her to learn them after bringing Tsunade back to Konoha.
Aware of her own talent, Sakura poured one hundred percent enthusiasm into training.
With Ryun's hands-on guidance, Sakura quickly grasped the essential techniques; the rest was just a matter of proficiency.
Her eyes sparkling, she looked at Ryun, clearly eager to learn more.
Ryun stroked his chin, thinking for a moment, then decided to teach her the Shadow Clone Technique and the Water Clone Technique as well.
Using the Shadow Clone Technique would be somewhat taxing for Sakura now, but the Water Clone Technique, a clone jutsu with only one-tenth of the original's power and low chakra consumption, she could use frequently.
Sakura then immersed herself in focused study again. After several hours of learning within the illusion, she finally mastered the essential techniques.
"Alright, don't bite off more than you can chew. Let's stop here."
"Now, let's return to reality."
But Sakura grabbed hold of Ryun, seeming to want to say something but stopping.
Ryun smiled and whispered in her ear, "No need to rush, Sakura."
"I haven't had my fill of your pure and cute appearance yet. We have plenty of time in the future."
Sakura's face turned as red as liver. She buried her head in Ryun's chest and closed her eyes.
When she came to, they were back in her room.
It was just past midnight, yet Sakura felt she had been training for almost a day within the illusion.
"...So amazing!"
In the end, Sakura could only use these words to describe her experience.
Then she tried one-handed hand seals. Though still clumsy, she actually succeeded.
Looking at the shadow clone beside her, Sakura's excitement was almost beyond words.
She said eagerly, "Ryun-kun, you mentioned you had another gift for me. What is it?"
"Oh, this..."
Ryun checked the time and said, "How about we talk about it tomorrow?"
"No, I want it now!"
"Alright, sit cross-legged and get comfortable."
Seeing the serious expression on Ryun's face, Sakura knew this gift was extraordinary. She immediately dismissed the shadow clone and focused all her concentration.
Ryun took a deep breath and said, "This is another ability I've awakened. It allows me to leave a sealing formula on a person, which continuously generates special chakra."
"This chakra can make your body healthier, your physique stronger, help you develop faster, maintain your youth, and in critical moments, you can release the power within to use medical ninjutsu with powerful healing effects..."
Ryun was about to explain its principles and potential risks when Sakura tightly grasped his hand and said, "I want to learn it."
"But..."
"Stop talking. Hurry up, I want to learn it!"
Just the promise of faster development and eternal youth was an irresistible temptation, even for the current Sakura.
As for the cost, this was a jutsu Ryun was giving her. If there were real danger, would Ryun let her take the risk?
That was the confidence Sakura had in Ryun.
"Alright..."
Ryun began to look Sakura up and down. Sakura glanced at her own body, puzzled. Was there something strange about it?
Then Ryun said, "The sealing formula will ultimately leave a seal mark. I don't want it to be exposed, as someone might discover it."
"At the same time, I want to place it somewhere safe where it won't be easily damaged accidentally. Where do you think would be a good place to put the tattoo?"
Sakura understood. She looked herself over, and her emotions, which had just settled, became flustered again.
Considering everything Ryun had said, should she choose her chest or her back?
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